Probes targeting associates of mayor

Saturday

Apr 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Two close associates of Mayor Anthony Silva have fallen under scrutiny, one suspected of battery and the second accused of claiming to represent the mayor in official city business without the appropriate credentials.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - Two close associates of Mayor Anthony Silva have fallen under scrutiny, one suspected of battery and the second accused of claiming to represent the mayor in official city business without the appropriate credentials.

The Stockton Police Department has launched an investigation into Glenn Jose, stemming from an alleged battery outside a bar on the Miracle Mile district either late last year or in January, Officer Joe Silva confirmed Friday.

Sam Fant, another friend and associate of the mayor's, became the subject of a veiled accusation from City Manager Bob Deis at an April 2 council meeting for interfering in the fire inspection of a local pizzeria amid an incident also drawing the attention of police.

These allegations come at a pivotal moment early in Mayor Silva's term, while he's pushing a controversial tax proposal and navigating tense relationships with council members and Deis.

Silva did not respond Friday to requests for an interview, saying in a text message to The Record that the story is an attempt to stir "controversy and chaos."

Both Jose and Fant are visible supporters of the mayor, standing next to him at a March 26 news conference for the announcement of the Stockton Safe Streets sales tax initiative.

Jose, 48, is the co-founder of Helping Other People Expand, or H.O.P.E., a nonprofit organization in Stockton founded in 2011 to mentor juvenile offenders.

He is suspected of battery at an unidentified bar located in the 2300 block of Pacific Avenue, said Officer Silva, who declined to provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation.

When contacted by phone, Jose said he recalled an incident in November, but provided few details of what transpired nor answered if Mayor Silva was present.

"I pulled somebody away," Jose said. "It was a commotion, a lot of people up there. I pulled somebody off there."

A second and apparently unrelated incident involved Fant, a 25-year-old Stockton resident and a Manteca Unified board member. Fant previously worked for Silva at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stockton and maintains that the two are friends.

Fant drew the vaguely worded accusation from Deis during a marathon City Council meeting lasting nearly nine hours. The meeting at about midnight turned to an analysis of Silva's tax proposal and ended with a council vote against it.

In his presentation, Deis did not name Fant but talked of a "shadow section of our city," where people are representing themselves as city officials without being properly screened, put on the payroll or given an official capacity.

Deis, who declined to comment Friday for this story, said at the council meeting that somebody purporting to be "an adviser for the mayor" interfered with a firefighter, who found a restaurant grossly in violation of fire codes.

The fire inspector, Deis said, felt physically threatened by the business owner and called for help.

Officer Silva confirmed Friday that officers responded to the fire inspector's call of a disturbance March 19 at a cafe in the 4600 block of Pacific Avenue.

Fant, 25, in a phone interview, said that he was the unnamed person in Deis' narrative, but Fant denied representing himself inappropriately.

"I didn't interject myself in any sense as an authoritative figure," he said. "I don't know why anybody would characterize it as inappropriate."

Rather, Fant said, the business owner, who speaks English as a second language, became frustrated, fearing that an "overzealous" fire inspector was set on shutting down his business.

The business owner called Fant, who rushed over. Fant saw police officers there, but because of their calm demeanor, he didn't realize they were there on a call of a disturbance, he said.

Fant said he went to the pizzeria as a "diplomat," trying to smooth over any misunderstandings. Fant has helped the business owner before and has also known the fire inspector since childhood, he said.

"It was something as innocent as trying to help with the communication," Fant said. "He called me first because he knows me."

The incident on March 19 coincides with city Fire Marshal Robert Tuitavuki being placed on paid administrative leave, March 20, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Reached at home by phone, Tuitavuki, who was not at the pizzeria that day, declined to comment on his leave or an investigation of him.

Stockton Fire Chief Jeff Piechura confirmed that Tuitavuki is on leave but declined to comment. City spokeswoman Connie Cochran also refused to speak about any personnel matters.

Fant, who knows Tuitavuki and attended school with his son, said he doesn't understand why the fire marshal has been suspended. Tuitavuki is well respected and loves the city, Fant said.

City payroll records show that Tuitavuki has worked for Stockton since 1989.

"I truly think that politics are playing a role in really hurting a reputation of a fine firefighter," Fant said. "It's unfortunate. I think potentially ... he's guilty by association."